Google is not precisely known for its privacy stand, but a latest blog post shows the Google perhaps trying to turn one more leaf on what has been called an "irresponsible" stand on user privacy.

The Google Analytics team has been working to give users an option on how their Internet browsing data is composed by the analytics and marketing tool, source of blog post by Amy Chang, group product manager.
"We concluded that the best approach probable to develop a global browser based plug-in to permit users to choose out of being tracked by Google Analytics," Chang said in the post. She said the plug-in is being tested by engineers and should be globally available "in the coming weeks."

Sure, more privacy always sounds great from a user standpoint, but analytics tools normally are used to the advantage of users whose privacy is being "violated." What's more: the information that's composed is not normally made public and is only given to folks who manage the particular Web site.

Permitting users to choose out of Google Analytics monitoring could prevent companies from understanding how long users are spending on their sites, where they are coming from, and what they are looking at. In the end it could prevent sites from becoming more profitable and offering users more of what they want.
I am not saying that people do not have rights to privacy online or that they should not be capable of browse the Net unnoticed. I am just saying most privacy worries are created when someone's private information is made available to the general public, a la Facebook, Google Buzz and Google Street View. This is not essentially the case with Google Analytics.

Either way, Google Analytics' move is a far cry from Google CEO Eric Schmidt's famous saying: "If you have something that you do not would like anyone to know, perhaps you should not be responsibility it in the first place."